


Atoms

by GeoLinden



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Childhood, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High School, Teen Tony Stark, Teenagers, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:29:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29827068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeoLinden/pseuds/GeoLinden
Summary: You and Tony have been friends for as long as you can remember, but sometimes the line between friendship and love is a fine one.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Reader, Tony Stark/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Atoms

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://ladyeliot.tumblr.com

In all friendships there is a fine line that separates love from simple friendship, in fact, on many occasions we cut that fine line without realising it. We come to think that things just happen, that there is nothing we can do to change the cycle of life, that everything is programmed and that those who are meant to be together, will be together.

It all began on a cloudy Friday, May 29, 1970. In a small town on the east side of Long Island, two new mothers were struggling fiercely to bring a baby into the world. The night had been long, a storm had left the town without electricity, a fact that had not hindered the delivery, but that had increased the nerves of these parents. After hours of suffering, screams and internal curses, at 6:29 pm two babies were able to see the world with their own eyes for the first time. At that very moment an invisible thread connected the two of them, so that it was at that very moment that they were brought together in the maternity ward and never to be separated again.

Childhood is the time when you can create the best memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Yours was shared with Tony, so he was present in virtually all of your memories. The fact that your mothers created a true friendship after the birth facilitated the deep connection you found on both sides. From birth you were never separated, you learned to discover the world together, you entered the first day of school together and you graduated together.

It was obvious that you had great things in common, but your characters were completely different, maybe that’s what made you two work so well together, what limited one of you, the other one could overcome. When your fear prevented you from daring to do something, Tony was by your side to help you overcome it. In the same way, when Tony felt insecure about himself, you were there to erase all his insecurities from his mind. You both evolved and improved each other.

Your childhood helped you understand the importance of having each other, the value of your friendship, even if there were little bumps in the road. Tony was your first time at all times, he was the one you did your first prank with, the one you took your first swim in the pool with, the one you learned to ride a bike with, the one you shared your Halloween candy with, the one you celebrated your birthdays with, Tony was everything, he was even your first kiss.

_It was 1978, innocence was still within you, causing you to see the world with eyes that were still unaware of the vast majority of things that lay before you. Laughter was coming through the wooden windows of your tree house. You were lying on a rug looking at a photo album that your mother had lent you, with some pictures of you and Tony from when you were practically babies.  
_

_“Look at you here,” you said with a chuckle, looking back at the picture of two-year-old Tony crying next to you. “You’re crying in all the pictures.”_

_Tony bumped his shoulder against yours in complaint and turned the page._

_“Why is it that in all the pictures of your parents alone they’re kissing?” he asked quizzically, not quite understanding the act._

_“I guess it’s because they love each other,” you said without making a big deal out of the gesture, as you were more than used to seeing them kissing in front of you._

_“My parents love each other too and they don’t kiss,” Tony commented turning the page._

_You shrugged, turning your attention back to the photo album. But Tony still had the idea in the back of his mind._

_“Do your parents kiss every day?” he asked, sitting up._

_“Hm…” you looked thoughtful at his question and also sat up. “Yes, whenever mum or dad comes home or leaves, or when we go to sleep…”_

_“Wow!” exclaimed Tony totally shocked by your words. “And… they like it?”_

_“I guess…” you shrugged holding up your palm. “Why else would they do it?”_

_“Makes sense,” Tony nodded, processing the information. “Maybe my parents don’t like it, that’s why they don’t.”_

_That was the first time the two of you had broached that topic of conversation, Tony seemed more curious than you, as you had already gone back to further contemplating the photographs._

_“Will we like it?” he asked, catching your attention again._

_“I don’t know,” you said with a shrug._

_“ Should we try it?” asked your best friend cheerfully, expecting an affirmative answer from you._

_“You and me?” you asked unreceptive to the idea Tony had just proposed._

_“Yeah, why not, we love each other, that’s all we need, you said it,” he smiled brimming with innocence._

_“I don’t know…” you frowned thoughtfully, not sure if it was quite right what he was proposing. “What if we don’t like it?”_

_“I guess it’s okay,” Tony stood up and grabbed your hand to pull you up._

_“Wait, how do we do this?” you asked nervously, looking into his eyes._

_“You just close your eyes,” he informed. “I’ll take care of the rest.”_

_“Okay.” You couldn’t help but let out a small nervous laugh, which prompted another one from Tony._

_“Okay, close your eyes,” he said again. “When I kiss you, mentally count to five.”_

_You finally agreed to comply with the guidelines offered by your best friend. There you were, standing in the middle of that cabin, wearing a yellow strapless dress with your eyes closed, waiting for your best friend to approach you and give you your first kiss. After closing your eyes, Tony took three seconds to approach you, put his lips against yours and you mentally counted to five. The sensation was strange, very particular, you didn’t know enough words at that time to express it and you didn’t know much about feelings and love, so you couldn’t stand the five seconds he proposed and after the third one you broke away, wiping your lips vigorously with your hand.  
_

_“It’s awful!” you exclaimed looking at your friend. “I don’t understand my parents!”_

_Tony seemed surprised at your reaction, but quickly joined in your disgust, falsely, as he hadn’t found the experience so terrible._

And he was also the second kiss.

_It was the summer of 1984, two friends on bicycles riding through the wooded area that separated your houses from the lake, laughing, struggling to find out who would get there first, but a pothole appeared in the road and a badly positioned stone caused your front wheel to lose its balance, overturning your bicycle. Tony behind you, instantly slowed down with a look of concern on his face, contemplating Tony behind you, brakes instantly with a look of concern on his face, staring at your bloodied knee._

_“Are you okay?” asks your best friend with a tone of concern in his voice rushing towards you.  
_

_Without responding you stand up, trying to recover from your fall and discovering the pain as your leg hits the ground, Tony is already kneeling down, analysing the scrape you’ve made on your knee._

_“Come lean on me,” he drapes your right arm across his shoulders. “Come on under that tree, I’ll clean your wound.”_

_After positioning yourself comfortably in the shade of the oak tree, Tony runs back to his bike to get the canteen._

_“Don’t worry,” you squeaked from a distance, playing it down. “I’m fine.”_

_“Are you going to stop your stubbornness and let me clean the wound?” Tony arched an eyebrow which elicited a chuckle from you. “Thanks.”_

_As the water poured over your wound you felt a stinging prickle, which was relieved when you wrapped your hand tightly around Tony’s arm._

_“Ouch!” he exclaimed as he felt your strength in his arm._

_“Ouch me!” you groaned at his complaint, generating a chuckle from your friend’s mouth._

_“Okay, that’s it,” he said, closing the canteen. “You know you’re the poster child for Newton’s three laws? The law of inertia, the fundamental law of dynamics and the principle of action and reaction.”_

_“And you are the clearest example of the idiot’s law,” you said with a laugh, for I had just called you clumsy in a clever way._

_“Of course!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around you. “But I’m your idiot.”_

_That was one of those moments when Tony would crush you against him and start giving you quick kisses all over your face just because he knew how much that annoyed you, but it made you laugh at the same time._

_“Tony!” you exclaimed with laughter, trying to run away from him._

_Coincidences can happen, but you never knew if it was a real coincidence due to the fast movements of both of you or if there was really an intention behind it, but Tony kissed your lips, pausing a little longer than usual. You, thinking it was unintentional, kept pushing him and your eyes widened in laughter._

_“Whoa! Sorry,” he said quickly. “Law of inertia, not my fault.”_

_You laughed and gave him another shove, leaving what had just happened forgotten in your mind._

And the third.

_It happened when you were in eleventh grade, Tony had always been a very joking child and sometimes his innocence did not allow him to realise the level of his jokes or how they were going to affect the people who made them. He had discovered early on that one thing he loved most was making you laugh, so day after day he would try anything to get a laugh out of you. That ranged from pretending to trip, to throwing his spaghetti at the first person he passed in the school cafeteria._

_Eventually his personality caught people’s attention, let’s say the law of attraction was in his persona and that became present by high school, so if you connect his joking side with the attractive side it creates a bomb._

_For you that discovery came a little late, too late, at least that’s what you thought at that moment when you saw him connecting intimately with a girl in a higher grade than you. You hated yourself for having been so blind for so long, for not having realised it before and also for having that kind of feeling towards your best, because they could destroy everything you had created for so many years, practically since you were born. You told yourself that it was stupid, that it was probably just a passing thought and that you would soon forget about it, that it would be better not to give it any importance. But it wasn’t.  
_

_You decided that one of the best ways to let off steam would be to write down how you felt, to write down every thought that came into your head and let it go forever. It would have been the best way in the world if you hadn’t confused that notebook with your physics notebook, put it in your backpack and forgotten your backpack at Tony’s house when you decided to go to the movies instead of studying that afternoon._

_It was too late when you discovered the event, you were about to free your mind when you picked up the blue notebook and discovered that it was the physics notebook, therefore the notebook where you were exploring your thoughts would be…._

_“Tony!” you exclaimed into the earpiece._

_“What’s up, it’s 12 o'clock at night?” his sleepy voice could be heard on the other end of the receiver.  
_

_“Do you know… I don’t know, did I by any chance leave my backpack with my books in it at your place?” you asked, praying that I hadn’t been gossiping in it._

_“Your backpack? Let me go,” he asked and a small knock was heard from the other side causing a minute’s silence. “Yeah, it’s in my room.”_

_“Okay…” you said in a whisper. “Uh…”_

_“Do you need it now?” he asked somewhat strangely. “Don’t you have your homework done? If you want I can finish it in a moment.”_

_“No, no, no!” you exclaimed quickly. “It’s all good, all done, don’t worry, everything’s great.”_

_“Okay,” he said dismissively. “Then tomorrow when I come to pick you up I’ll bring it to you.”_

_“Yeah, great, yeah,” your nervousness increased, you wanted to tell him not to look inside, but you knew that by telling him he would probably end up doing it, so you preferred not to say anything else and let whatever happened happen happen._

_The next morning Tony turned up as usual, with a smile on his face, chatty, funny and you knew that nothing had happened and nothing had changed, in short, a big weight was lifted off your shoulders._

_“Shall we go to physics class? Mr. Gilbert will be looking forward to my dissertation on atoms and the origin of the Big Bang,” he said closing his locker. “I think you’ll like it too.”  
_

_“You go ahead,” you said, waiting for him to leave to exchange notebooks. “I’ll catch up with you.”_

_“Alright.”_

_You waited for him to disappear into the crowd to make the exchange, but first you glanced around checking for any sign that someone had read it, however…._

> _“In the first seconds after the Big Bang, the density and warmth of the universe barely allowed life to generate. As the universe cooled, the matter we are made of began to appear: quarks and electrons, which gave way to protons and neutrons, and then nuclei. As it expanded, things began to happen more slowly, until electrons became trapped in orbits to form the first atoms. Those atoms gave way to stars and galaxies, which uniformly gave way to life, to you and me. So you see, you just have to let the universe do its work, because you and I are those atoms that came together hundreds of millions of years ago and were created to be together.”_

_A structural blockage was happening inside you at that moment, you read that paragraph over and over and over again, until there was hardly anyone left around you. Your heart was pounding fervently, causing sweat to break out all over your body. Your sanity was gone, you didn’t know what to do, where to go, or how to act, you just wanted to escape. When your physical block passed, you gathered all your belongings from your locker and headed outside, trying to get some air back into your lungs. The only thing that was going through your mind was that your best friend had read those fifty-seven pages you had written for the moment, where you expressed, without any caution, everything that was going through your mind about him, accentuating your romantic feelings._

_You wanted to disappear at that very moment, to go into a burrow or a bunker and stay there until it was all over. Your heart was pounding in your chest, you were walking aimlessly, but as far away from that building as possible. How could you not have noticed anything about Tony to let you know that he had read it? You were so distressed that you barely analysed what he had written to you, where he also expressed his feelings in his own particular way. You finally found an escape at the bus stop, wishing for a bus to go somewhere far away as soon as possible._

_Every word that came out of you was a curse, at you of course. Reminding you what an idiot you had been, that you had ruined the best thing you had, that you couldn’t have been more stupid, and hundreds of negative things that prevented you from getting out of that black bubble you had created for yourself, but as always he had to appear to make you see reason.  
_

_“Y/N!” Tony’s voice was heard behind you. “What are you doing?”_

_Your eyes closed and you prayed it wasn’t true what you were hearing, but it was too late, you had to face the truth._

_“Hey!” Tony stepped up beside you. “If we were going to make up from physics class you could have at least given me a heads up. I looked like an idiot when I saw you through the window walking out of school.” You looked away, didn’t say anything. “What’s wrong with you?”_

_It was bad enough what you were going through without having to put up with Tony’s attitude, who showed his indifference as if nothing had happened, a fact that pissed you off even more._

_“No! What the hell is wrong with you?” you said angrily. “Why did you read my diary? Who the hell gave you permission?”_

_“Okay, fine. I did,” he began, relaxing the tone of his voice and avoiding not smiling, because he knew it might make you even angrier. “But for my defence I promise you it was after I spoke to you on the phone, I saw you so nervous I thought you lied to me when you said you had your homework done, so I checked, and I must say I couldn’t stop reading when I started. I know! I should have stopped, it’s something very intimate and personal, but… I just couldn’t,” he paused. “And I don’t regret it.”  
_

_After hearing his last words you opened your eyes in surprise and shook your head indignantly for having heard him say that he did not regret doing it._

_“No regrets?” you folded your arms, stopping the tears of anger that had welled up in your eyes from sliding down your cheek._

_“No,” Tony said firmly. “And I never will.”_

_“This is insane,” you shook your head turning away._

_“Listen,” Tony interjected, grabbing your arm and pulling you back to face him. “Have you stopped to think about what I’ve written or are you just focused on the fact that I’ve read your diary?” he asked searching your gaze. “Better yet, is it true? Is everything you’ve written in there true? Do you feel that way? Are you… in love with me?”_

_“Oh my god…” shame had taken over your anger and all you wanted to do was run away from there, but Tony’s hand around your right arm prevented you from doing so._

_“Please, just answer me,” he begged._

_“I…” you looked around avoiding answering that question, focused on your world and your feelings. “I don’t know.”_

_“ Well, that’s good enough for me.”_

_That “I don’t know” was enough for Tony, because he discovered that there was a “yes” hidden in them, therefore he didn’t hesitate to approach your face and do what he had been wanting to do for so long, kiss you. His words were true when he said that he didn’t regret it and he was never going to do it because probably if it hadn’t been for his intention to do your homework, he would never have read that diary and neither of you would probably ever have told the other how you really felt, because you were afraid of breaking what had been created from the moment you were born._

As I said at the beginning, the fine line that separates love from friendship sometimes gets cut without us realising it, and when we do realise it, we think it’s too late or that maybe it would be better not to take the risk, because things could turn around and change for the worse, but who says they can’t get better? That love can’t triumph?


End file.
